President Craig welcomed everyone and led us in the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by this evening’s prayer, offered by Dick Gerken.

 

Jeff and Shelly are with us tonight, after having participated in their first Senior Christmas dinner. Nancy Wiggin is with us tonight as is Paula Rovira, our exchange student from Spain.

 

Vern Goddard is home from the hospital!! Betsey can’t be here tonight since her cold has worsened, but thanks everyone for a stellar performance at the Senior Christmas dinner. We had 300 people at the event and it went really smoothly. Chris Kelly said he loves being the MC and hopes we will invite him again next year… Oh, Chris: you betcha! Gary Dehnel reminded everyone that the Interact gang will be at the NH Veteran’s Home this week singing Christmas Carols and dining with our veterans. Kevin Kelly, the Joker, provided some levity with a story about hair removal … let’s not go there. The Rotary Christmas party and Yankee Swap is next week in the big dining room at Hart’s. If you want to participate in the Yankee Swap, please bring a wrapped gift ($25 limit) for the event. There will be no meetings on December 25, 2019 and January 1, 2020.  January 8 will be first meeting of the new year.  The board of directors will have a meeting on January 22, 2020.

 

There are no fines tonight! Dean had a happy dollar for going to Vermont with the inbound students last weekend – driving thru a nasty snowstorm but getting back safely. Gary had $5 for Camp Resilience, and $1 for his ski tip tomorrow to Gunstock. Bob Kennelly had happy dollars for installing new floors in his girlfriend’s bathrooms, and also his new grandson! Brian Krautz – gleeful over the Patriot’s ongoing losses… doesn’t mean Pittsburgh is any better, though. Jim McFarlin had a happy dollar for Carol Gerken who stayed here while Dick went to CA to visit the family. Shelley had a happy dollar for the success of the Senior Christmas Dinner. Tim had a happy dollar for the senior dinner, and also the janitorial crew at the school, who were a big help to us. Rick Werkowski had a happy dollar for the Patriot’s game: which he attended with his son. Nancy Wiggin had a happy dollar for upcoming visit from Casey. Craig had $5 happy dollars for the same reason. Fred had a happy dollar for our upcoming new members in January.

 

The program tonight was provided by Paula Rovira, our exchange student from Spain.  Paula is from Catalonia, the northeast area of Spain, above Barcelona. Her village is located about a one hour drive from the border with France. Both of her parents are well-respected chefs, and her father’s restaurant has been awarded a Michelin Star! Paula has a younger sister and brother. Her parents divorced when she was younger. While the Mediterranean Diet is mostly followed in this area of Spain, bread is very important and pork is the mainstay for meat. Paula loves anything that is smoked or BBQ! One of the traditions of the local villages is participating in the spectacular contests known as tower building. This is comprised of volunteers creating human towers (with youngest/smallest at the top). The “castellers,” or tower builders form elaborate human structures that soar into the sky, and thousands of people come to participate and watch the creation of the towers. Another fun celebration in Northern Spain is an almost-Mardi Gras event to celebrate Ascension Day that incorporates giant puppets parading through town. The schools in Catalonia do not have sports programs as schools in the US have: schools are only for academic work. There are no guidance counselor’s and no “school spirit” as we have here. There is little, if any, interaction with teachers. Students cannot select which courses they want to take… there are no elective courses. Paula’s school in Spain in rather small, with only 200 students. So, when she came to the US and entered Interlakes High School, she started playing sports, including basketball and volleyball. Paula is in the 11^th grade, and while here, she participated in the Walk for Breast Cancer in October. She is also a great swimmer-competing in swim meets.

 

 

Tonight’s winner was Peter Kador.